BBC News
Multiple people have been injured after a man shouting “free Palestine” tossed Molotov cocktails at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages in Colorado, authorities say.
Police said eight people – aged between 52 and 88 – were hurt in the attack at the Pearl Street Mall, a popular outdoor space in Boulder, about 30 miles (48km) from Denver.
The FBI called it a suspected terror attack and said the suspect had used a makeshift flamethrower, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices.
Footage of the attack shows the suspect, who was shirtless, screaming at the group, holding what appears to be Molotov cocktails in each hand when he was arrested.
The attack unfolded during a weekly scheduled demonstration put on by Run for Their Lives, a pro-Israeli group that holds walks in the outdoor pedestrian mall in solidarity with Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Police received calls around 13:26 local time (19:26 GMT) on Sunday about a man with a weapon and people being set on fire, Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn told a news conference.
Officers who responded found multiple injured, including people with burns.
One of those hurt in the attack was a Holocaust survivor, according to Rabbi Israel Wilhelm, the Chabad director at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Wilhelm described the 88-year-old as a “very loving person” to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
The attack is the second high-profile act of violence in the US in the last two weeks that appears to be related to the conflict in Gaza.
A man who shouted “free Palestine” fatally shot two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC on 22 May. The incident happened at a networking event organised by a Jewish organisation.
After Sunday’s incident, witnesses told authorities that the suspect used a “makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd”, Mark Michalek, who heads the FBI’s Denver office, said.
He identified the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who was taken to hospital after being arrested and later booked into the county jail on a number of charges. He is due to appear in court later on Monday.
Mr Soliman is an Egyptian national, government officials told CBS. He arrived in California in 2022 on a non-immigrant visa that expired in February 2023, multiple sources told the broadcaster, and had been living in Colorado Springs.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Mr Soliman had been given a work permit after his visa expired under the previous Biden administration.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, said the suspect entered the country on a tourist visa and filed for asylum in September 2022.
Warning: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.
Footage that appeared to be from the attack shows a chaotic scene: smoke filling the air, people running in multiple directions, spots of grass on fire and people injured on the ground.
In images and videos posted online, a man who appears to be the suspect is seen without a shirt and holding bottles with liquid with pieces of red cloth inside them. He can be heard yelling at the crowd and appears to be advancing towards them as some rush to flee.
As he screams, one woman is seen on the ground and appears injured. People surround her and a man pours water on her body.
Footage shows police rushing to the scene and arresting the suspect. Police say he was taken to hospital with injuries.
“It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,” Mr Michalek said. “Sadly, attacks like this are becoming too common across the country.”
Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser said that from what officials knew, the attack “appears to be hate crime given the group that was targeted”.
“People may have differing views about world events and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but violence is never the answer to settling differences,” Weiser said in a statement on Sunday. “Hate has no place in Colorado.”
Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, said he was “shocked” by the incident and called the attack “pure antisemitism fuelled by the blood libels spread in the media”.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, called for “concrete action” in response to the attack.
“Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border – it is already burning the streets of America,” he said.
